Pfc. Natasha Schuette reported her Fort Jackson, S.C., drill sergeant for sexually assaulting her during basic training in 2012. Now, she’s the subject of an Army training video aimed at fighting sexual harassment and assault within the service.(Photo: VIDEO STILL COURTESY ARMY TIMES)

Reports of sexual assault in the military rose 50 percent last year. Assaults in the Marine Corps shot up 86 percent.

The numbers, released Thursday in the Pentagon's annual report on sexual assault in the military, raise the annual question: Are the number of incidents on the rise, or are more victims reporting the crimes because they are gaining confidence in the military's reporting system?

The Pentagon thinks the latter. So does Sen. Claire McCaskill, D-Mo., who successfully pushed a package of reforms through the Senate earlier this year that has yet to be taken up by the House.

"These numbers show concrete progress as our recent sweeping reforms continue to take root and more victims have the confidence in the system to come out of the shadows and report these crimes," McCaskill said in a statement published by USA Today. "We know that the majority of survivors, both military and civilian, choose not to report their assaults — but this data suggests that the number of brave men and women in uniform choosing to pursue justice is increasing. Ultimately, one sexual assault is still one too many, so while these numbers represent progress, our fight is far from over."

A military-wide increase of 50 percent would mean there were about 5,000 reports in 2013, compared with the Pentagon's figures of 3,374 reports in 2012, USA Today reported.

But as McCaskill noted, sexual assaults are grossly underreported across the board. The Pentagon estimated that based on the number of actual reports in 2012, 26,000 sexual assaults actually took place. Such assaults can range from groping to rape.

The Pentagon didn't update that estimate, as no survey was conducted during this fiscal year. A new survey is being conducted this year.